Sunday, January 31, 2010

Well, as much as I would like winter to be over, the weather this week reminded me that it's not. We got about 10 inches of snow on Friday and added yet another snow-make-up day to our school schedule. My crazy boys ran in the Yeti Set Run 5K on Saturday in the 10 inches of snow with a temperature of 15 degrees. They are simply nuts. :) I finished week 5 of Couch to 5K today with my first 2 mile run (unfortunately on the treadmill). I'm not brave enough (or maybe I'm just smarter) to run out in the snow. Here are some photos of the boys at their run.

This week we don't have many evening obligations, other than youth group on Wednesday, which is a nice change of pace. It won't last long, though. The following week is jammed packed with stuff. :) Here is this week's menu. I will post photos later in the week after everything has been cooked. For more menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com. Enjoy!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

We had another great week in the Matzat household. Our family has kind of made a new commitment to fitness and we have been working out a lot together lately. Corey being in cross country inspired Eric to start running a few months ago, and not to be left out, I've been doing the Couch to 5K program and just completed week 4. Over Christmas break, we got a new weight machine to finish out our home gym (we already had a treadmill and elliptical). We've also pretty much given up drinking soda (which wasn't too hard for me and Corey as we never drank very much, but a little tougher for Eric), and we don't sweeten our tea anymore (that includes using Splenda). These are just small changes, but we feel pretty good about them.

This week I have a couple of new recipes on the menu. It's one of those typical busy weeks, so we needed some things I could make ahead (Country Ham and Macaroni Casserole) or cook in the crockpot (Easy Cheesy Dump and Go Chicken). I'll post pictures later in the week once I've made them. For more menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com. Have a great week and enjoy!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

We had a pretty good week this week. We had a full week of school, the snow melted, and we stuck to the menu. :) I completed week 3 of the Couch to 5K program. I have to admit that I'm pretty scared of next week. The running blocks increase significantly. We'll see how it goes. Corey serves as my personal trainer and is very encouraging. :)

Here is this week's menu. I always have to make sure we have a quick and easy meal on Wednesday because Corey has youth group and we don't really have time to cook. He also has an orthodontist appointment on Friday, so we have to eat soft food. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com. Have a great week!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

We finally go back to school tomorrow! We had two weeks off for Christmas vacation, and then a bonus week off due to snow. We seem to rarely get real snow anymore, so this was a treat for us. Corey and the dogs had lost of fun sledding and playing snow soccer. I left the Christmas decorations up, so it felt very festive around our house.

I started the Couch to 5K program over break as well. I start week 3 of the program tomorrow. This is a pretty big deal for me. I am so not a runner, and this is really kicking my rear end. :) We'll see if I actually make it to week 9 where I have to run a 5K. Wish me luck!

I did get a chance to do a lot of reading. I'm on the Mark Twain Readers Award committee this year, so I have a rather large list of books to read. This week gave me a chance to get many of them finished. I also did some cooking. My parents came over on Saturday to celebrate their anniversary and we had a great dinner followed by a very fun game of Phase 10. We had Baked Penne with Italian Sausage, which is a great alternative to lasagna. It makes a TON, so be sure you make it when you have lots of people around to eat it. I also made some fabulous brownie peanut butter cookies as a treat. You've got to give them a try. :) My soup for this week is Creamy Beef, Mushroom, and Noodle Soup. It is going to make for some terrific lunches. :)

Since we are back in school this week, our busy schedule will return. I do have a few new items on the menu, so I will post photos as soon as I make them. Here is this week's menu. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com.

The sauce on this one was pretty bland. If I make it again, I will use spaghetti sauce that already has extra spices in it. I had a lot of leftovers, and I added in a can of Hunts Garlic and Herb spaghetti sauce which did help.

Directions:
In a small skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for two minutes. Add broccoli and stir fry for 3 minutes, or until tender crisp. Stir in soy, honey and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute more. (You can thicken this sauce with cornstarch if desired, but I leave it a little bit thin to go over rice.)

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Last week I posted an apron giveaway to celebrate my two-year blogiversary. Thanks to everyone who shared recipes with me. :) I'm so glad to hear that my blog is useful for other people. My son, who is currently taking a C++ programming class, wrote a quick random number generator program for me, and the winner is number 14. Mary D. posted a recipe for Hamburger and Macaroni. Mary, you will need to email me your address so I can send you your apron. You can email me at cmatzat (at) gmail.com. Congratulations!

We were supposed to go back to school tomorrow after having off two weeks for Christmas break, but it just happened to snow about 4 inches today! In southwest Missouri, that almost guarantees a snow day. So, our vacation has been extended for one more day. (I was going to post a picture, but my stupid computer won't read the camera card. Grrr!)

I have a couple of new recipes on the menu this week. I made one of them tonight and it was a winner. Corey loved the recipe for Chicken Spaghetti. We'll be having Baked Penne with Italian Sausage later in the week. I always a make a soup each week to eat in my lunches at school. This week's soup is Creamy Black Bean - one of my favorites. I also made some wonderful chocolate cookies that were absolutely amazing. They are super easy and you probably have all of the ingredients in your house, so if you have a snow day tomorrow like me, bake up a batch and your family will love you. :) I often make biscuits and gravy for Corey for breakfasts in the morning and I finally posted a recipe for that as well. I use turkey sausage in my gravy, so it ends up being 2 weight watchers points for a 1/4 cup gravy. Not too bad.

Here is this week's menu. I hope you enjoy it. For more menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com.

Directions:
1. Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat.

2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Drain the sausage on a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.

3. Mix ricotta cheese and ½ tsp. pepper together; set aside. In a separate bowl, toss the mozzarella and Parmesan together until combined; set aside.

4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Reserve 1½ cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the pot and stir in the marinara sauce, sausage, and reserved pasta cooking water.

5. Pour half of the sauced pasta into a 13×9-inch baking dish. Drop large spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta, then pour the remaining sauced pasta over the ricotta layer. Sprinkle the top of the penne evenly with the mozzarella mixture.

6. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400°F. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray (or use nonstick foil). Bake until the sauce bubbles lightly around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until pasta is completely heated through, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

Directions:
Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned. Stir in flour until dissolved. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot over biscuits.

I was hoping that these biscuits would be better than just using the canned biscuits. Unfortunately, they are 3 points each and the canned biscuits are 2 points each. I also thought that the wheat flour would boost the fiber content, but they only have 1 gram of fiber per biscuit. So much for healthier biscuits. They did taste good though, and they weren't hard to make.

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About Me

This blog is dedicated to helping those who struggle to answer the question, “What’s for dinner?” As a busy wife, mom, and elementary librarian, deciding what to make for dinner is one of my daily challenges. Menu planning has been my saving grace, so I hope that by sharing my recipes and menus, I can help others on their journey to meal-planning bliss!